Sheet punching mechanism



Filed May 19. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l I: \lfllllllllllllllllllll lllll TJ4 T 7 T W L M m m m N: A W 9 T3 9 i.l.|. .l i II 3 MHIIII WWI \\ VIllllll" HARRY L. HERSHEY ATTORNEY Nov. 20, 1962 H. L. HERSHEY SHEETPUNCHING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 19, 1958 INVENTOR.

HARRY 1.. HERSHEY T AL- ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,0 fi45l3Patented Nov. 20, 1962.

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3,064,513 SHEET PUNGHING MECHANISM Harry L. Hershey, Harrisburg, Pa,assignor to W. G. Hickok Manufacturing Company, Harrisburg, Pa, acorporation of Pennsylvania Filed May 19, 1958, Ser. No. 736,066 16(Ilaiins. (Cl. 83345) This invention relates to a sheet punchingmechanism, and more particularly to a continuously operative mechanismfor punching paper webs.

In the art of paper punching, it frequently is the practice tosimultaneously punch two or more thicknesses of paper due to thedifliculty of securing a clean punching operation through a singlethickness of relatively thin paper. Moreover, due to necessarymanufacturing tolerances, it is impossible from a practical standpointto secure perfect registration of the die elements, especially in thecase of rotary punches carried by wheels or rollers between which a webof paper is continuously fed. The inaccuracy in the exact registrationof the die elements results in the marring of one of the punch elements,which ever is softer, which marring takes place to a limited extent uponeach engagement of the die elements. Thus the damage to the partsprogressively increases with the result that the die elements areextremely short-lived.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a novel sheetpunching mechanism, which is particularly practicable for use inpunching openings in a single thickness of a paper web movingcontinuously between rollers carrying the punch elements, and whereinthe punch elements are so constructed as to provide, after the firstrotation of the parts, a perfect registration of the die elements.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of the character referred towherein one punch element of each mating pair is so mounted as to permitit to shift its position into exact registration with the other punchelement of the pair, thus permitting the apparatus to be continuouslyoperated over long periods to provide for the clean punching of openingsthrough a web of paper without damage to the dies.

A further object is to provide an apparatus of this character whereinone punch element of each mating pair is adapted to shift its positionto permit it to perfectly register with the other die element of thepair, and wherein friction means is employed for holding the shiftabledie member in any position which it has assumed upon the first mating ofthe die elements.

A further object is to provide a punching apparatus of this characterwhich embodies the inherent characteristic of permitting the shiftabledie member to shift as may be necessary after long continuous operationof the apparatus through which the wearing of the driving gearsotherwise would cause a mis-alinement of the die elements.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following description.

In the drawings I have shown one embodiment of the invention. In thisshowing:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view through a portion of a machineembodying the present invention, one set of die-carrying wheels beingshown in solid lines and others in broken lines to indicate that anynumber of such wheels may be employed;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on line 3-3 of FIGURE2;

FIGURE 4 is a similar view on line 44 of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a detailed perspective view of one of the male punchelements; and

FIGURE 6 is a similar view of a holder for one of the female punchelements.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the numeral 10 designates a pair of main siderails of the machine with which the present invention is associated.Upper and lower shafts 11 and 12 are journaled respectively in bearings13 and 14 carried by the frame members. The shafts 11 and 12 are shownas being provided respectively with meshing gears 15 and 16, identicalwith each other, whereby the two shafts will be driven in oppositedirections at the same speed. Outside one frame member 10, the shaft 12is shown as being provided with a driving gear 17 adapted to mesh withany suitable gear (not shown) driven from any source of power which maybe available.

The shaft 11 is provided with a spline groove 20 and has mounted thereonthe hub 21 of one or more Wheels or rollers 22. One such wheel has beenshown in FIG- URE l, but as indicated in broken lines, any number of thewheels may be mounted on the shaft 11. As shown in FIGURE 2, the hub 21is splined on the shaft 11 as at 23. Each hub 21 is provided with a lockscrew 24 engageable with the associated spline 23 to clamp it in thegroove 20. Upon the loosening of the screw 24, the wheel 22 may be movedlongitudinally of the shaft 11 to any desired position, whereupon thescrew 24 will be tightened.

The wheel 22 is radially bored at one or more points as at 28 (FIGURE 3)and any number of such bores may be provided at circumferentially spacedpoints depending upon the number of punches desired within thecircumference of the wheel 22. In FIGURE 2, four of the bores 28 havebeen illustrated. A plunger 29 is mounted in the bore 28 in FIGURE 3 andis biased radially outwardly by a spring 30. At its radially outer end,the plunger 29 is provided with a male punch element 31 normallyprojecting beyond the periphery of the wheel 22 as shown in FIGURE 3.Adjacent the punch element 31, the plunger 29 is provided with ashoulder 32 engageable by a disk 33 having a stem 34 threaded in thewheel 22. The disk or head 33 operates in a recess 35 of substantialdepth as shown in FIGURE 4. The purpose of this is to provide for thescrewing in of the head 33 to move the associated punch element 31radially inwardly of the wheel 22 to render it inoperative, whendesired, for performing a punching operation.

It will be apparent that the same structure is employed for each of thepunches associated with the wheel 22. Accordingly, any one or more ofthese punches may be rendered operative or inoperative.

On the shaft 12 is mounted one or more wheels 49, one such wheel beingshown in solid lines in FIGURE 1, and two being shown in broken lines tocorrespond to the broken line showings of the wheels 22. Each wheel 40is provided with a hub 41 having a spline 42 mounted in a spline groove43 formed in the shaft 12. The hub 41, as in the case of each hub 21, isprovided with a clamp screw 44 for clamping the spline 42 in its groove43, the screw being adapted to be loosened to adjust the wheel 40 alongthe shaft 12, as will be obvious.

The wheel 43 is provided with a relatively thick circumferential flange46 (FIGURES 3 and 4) having radial openings 47 therethroughcorresponding in number and circumferential spacing to the radial bores28. The flange 46, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, is provided with ashoulder 48 engageable with an annular flange 49 formed on a die holderor carrier 50.

The holder 50 (FIGURES 4 and 6) is provided with a shoulder 52engageable with a head or disk 53 carried by a screw 54 threaded in theflange 46. The head 53 engages solidly against a shoulder 55 formed inthe flange 46, it being unnecessary to move the holder 50 radiallyinwardly of the wheel 40 to render inoperative the die elementassociated with the holder 59, as will become apparent.

The holder 50 is provided in its outer portion radially of the wheel 40with a bore 58. The other end of the holder 50 is provided with a largerbore 59 opening into the bore 58 through a conical shoulder 60.

A female die element 62 is mounted in the bore 58 and is of smallerdiameter than such bore, for a reason to be described. The die member 62is provided in the bore 59 with an annular flange 63 formedhemispherical or otherwise annularly curved to engage the shoulder 60and permit the die member 62 to rock slightly out of aXial alinementwith the bore 58. The flange 63 is held in relatively tight fractionalengagement with the shoulder 60 by a spring 64, seating against a plug65 threaded in the open end of the bore 59.

The present apparatus is particularly intended for use in a machine forpunching a continuously moving web of paper, and a portion of such webis shown in solid lines in FIGURES 3 and 4 and indicated by the numeral68, the web being shown in broken lines in FiGURES 1 and 2. Such web ofpaper, as will become more apparent below, is punched at desiredintervals longitudinally thereof and may be punched transversely of thepaper strip at spaced points.

Operation In the actual use of the machine, a relatively wide paper webis punched in rows transversely of the paper at longitudinally spacedpoints, and such web may be split longitudinally and severedtransversely to form, for eX- ample, sheets of a pack to be used inloose-leaf notebooks. The apparatus is driven by driving the gear 17,thus rotating the shafts 11 and 12 in opposite directions at the samespeed. The splines and spline grooves of the two wheels 22 and 40, orthe sets of such wheels, are so placed that each mating pair of dieelements is brought as nearly exactly as possible into registration whenthe die elements assume the positions shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. Due tonecessary manufacturing tolerances, as stated above, it is impossiblefrom a practical standpoint to secure exact registration of the dieelementsSl and 62, as a result of which one edge portion of the dieelement 31 necessarily at least lightly strikes the adjacent edgeportion of the die element 62. If such misalinement of the die elementscontinues, at least one punch element, whichever is softer, will beprogressively damaged and in a relatively short time the dies will berendered useless for cutting clean openings through the web.

With the present machine, when it is first set up as accurately aspossible, the web is fed through the machine by any suitable feed meansas the Shafts 11 and 12 are rotated. The slight mis-alinement betweenthe die elements 31 and 62, either circumferentially or transversely ofthe planes of the wheels 22 and 40, will be immediately andautomatically corrected. Because of the mounting of the die element 62,it can move out of exact axial alinement with the bore 58. Accordinglythe die element 62 will automatically correct its position the firsttime it comes into engagement with the die element 31. It will be notedthat the die 31 does notproject materially beyond the thickness of theweb 68. Accordingly upon initial operation of the apparatus when the dieelements turn beyond their registration point, there is no tendency forthe die element 31 to swing the die element 62 out of the position whichit will assume when the punching elements are in punching relationshipas shown in FIGURE 3. Thereafter, the spring 64 will maintain the firmfrictional engagement of the flange 63 with the shoulder 60.Accordingly, at each rotation of the Wheels 22 and 40, the engaging endsof the die elements 31 and 62 will exactly register, and damage to theoperative ends of the die elements is prevented. Obviously, there can beno progressive damaging of such members due to misalinement of the partsupon each rotation of the wheels 22 and 49. The die elements cantherefore be so accurately sized with respect to each other as to cutcleanly through a single-thickness web of relatively thin paper, and theaccurate cutting operation will be performed through long periods oftime.

If it is desired to render one or more of the dies inoperative, itmerely is necessary to rotate the shafts to render one or more of thescrews 34 readily accessible, whereupon an Allen wrench or any othersuitable tool may be applied to the radially outer end of the screw 34and the screw turned to move the head 33 into engagement with theshoulder 35. Under such conditions, no portion of the associated dieelement 31 will project beyond the periphery of the wheel 22, and suchdie element and its associated female die element 62 will be renderedinoperative. No portion of the die element 62 ever projects beyond theperiphery of the wheel 40, and accordingly it is unnecessary to retractany of these die elements.

As previously stated, any number of pairs of wheels 22 and 40 may beemployed, spaced apart the correct distances along the shafts 11 and 12.Moreover, one or more pairs of dies may be rendered inoperative in themanner described above, thus providing for various spacings of thepunched openings longitudinally of the strip. It also will be noted thatby turning the wheel 22 to points providing access to the die elements31, any of these elements may be removed by removing the screw 34 toreplace the die elements 31 with die elements of a different size. Atthe same time, the plugs 65 may be removed to radially inwardly Withdrawthe die elements 62 to replace them with die elements of the sizecorresponding to the die elements 31.

It also will be apparent that for replacement or repair purposes thewheel 49 may be rotated to render one or more of the screws 54accessible to remove it for the replacement of one or more of theholders 50.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present apparatus ishighly practicable for use especially in the punching of a singlethickness of relatively thin paper at any desired points for the making,for example, of the pages of loose-leaf notebooks. It will be apparent,however, that the apparatus is not in any sense limited to such use. Italso will be obvious that one or more of the die elements 31 may berendered inoperative merely by turning in the screw-s 34 associatedtherewith.

Attention is also invited to the fact that in the event of seriousinitial mis-alinement of mating pairs of die elements, the die elements31 are free to be moved radially inwardly of the wheel 22 against thetension of the associated spring 30 which functions normally to maintainthe shoulder 32 in engagement with the head 33. Accordingly theapparatus is damage-proof and is adapted to smoothly punch openings inpaper continuously over long periods of time without undue wear.

The invention has been described particularly with reference to thepunching of a Web forming a single thickness of paper since theperformance of such operation has been highly difficult with priorstructures, as stated. It will be obvious, however, that any number ofthicknesses of webs, within reasonable limits, may be fed through theapparatus It is to be understood that the form of the invention shownand described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatvarious changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of the parts may bemade as do not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sheet punching mechanism comprising a pair of supports each mountedto move about a fixed axis, a male punch element and a female punchelement carried respectively by said supports, means for operating saidsupports in synchronized relation to bring said punching elements intopunching relation to punch a sheet passing between said supports, saidmale punch element, when said punch elements are in punching relation,extending only slightly beyond the thickness of the sheet, means formounting one of said punch elements relative to its support for tiltingmovement in any direction relatively transversely of its axis wherebysuch punch element is adapted to shift its position to register with theother punch element when said punch elements are first brought intopunching relation with each other, means including frictionally engagingsurfaces respectively on said one punch element and its associatedsupport for holding said one punch element in the position to which itwill be tilted when said punch elements are first brought into punchingrelation whereby said one punch element, as said punch elements arerepeatedly brought into punching relation, will be aligned with theother punch element, and means tending to hold said surfaces infrictional engagement with each other.

2. A mechanism according to claim 1 wherein one of said frictionallyengaging surfaces is on said female punch element, said male punchelement being arranged radially of its support, a spring biasing suchpunch element radially outwardly relative to its support, and means forlimiting such radially outward movement of said male punch element, suchmeans including a screw operable for moving said male punch elementradially inwardly against said spring to render such punch elementinoperative.

3. A mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said associated support isprovided with a carrier forming a part thereof, said one punch elementbeing arranged within said carrier, said frictionally engaging surfacesbeing respectively on said one punch element and said carrier.

4. A mechanism according to claim 3 wherein said carrier is arrangedradially of the axis of said associated support and is provided with anaxial bore into which said one punch element projects, such bore beingof larger diameter than said one punch element, said carrier and saidone punch element having engagin annular shoulders on which saidfrictionally engaging surfaces are formed, one of such surfaces beingsubstantially hemispherical to provide for the tilting of said one punchelement into alignment with the other punch element.

5. A mechanism according to claim 4 wherein said means tending to holdsaid surfaces in frictional engagement with each other comprises springmeans tending to prevent relative movement between such surfaces.

6. A sheet punching mechanism comprising a pair of rollers mounted forrotation on parallel axes and having peripheral portions movable insubstantial engagement with each other and between which a sheet to bepunched is adapted to pass, means for driving said rollers in oppositedirections at the same speed, a male punch element carried by one ofsaid rollers radially thereof and normally projecting beyond theperiphery thereof a distance only slightly greater than the thickness ofthe sheet, a female punch element carried by the other roller radiallythereof and having its radially outer end terminating substantiallyflush with said other roller, said punch elements being so mounted ontheir respective rollers as to be brought into punching relation witheach other upon each rotation of said rollers, means for mounting one ofsaid punch elements in its associated roller for tilting movementthereof in any direction transversely of its axis whereby such punchelement is adapted to shift its position to register with the otherpunch element when said punch elements are first brought into punchingrelation with each other, said last named means including frictionallyengaging surfaces respectively on said one punch element and itsassociated roller for holding said one punch element in the position towhich it will be tilted by engagement with the other punch element whensaid punch elements are first brought into punching relation, wherebysaid one punch element, as said punch elements are repeatedly broughtinto punching relation, will be aligned with the other punch element,and means tending to hold said surfaces in friction-a1 engagement witheach other.

7. A mechanism according to claim 6 wherein said associated roller isprovided with a carrier forming a part thereof and in which said onepunch element is arranged, said frictionally engaging surfaces beingrespectively on said one punch element and on said carrier.

8. A mechanism according to claim 7 wherein said carrier is arrangedradially of the axis of said associated roller and is provided with anaxial bore larger in diameter than and into which said one punch elementprojects, said carrier and said one punch element having ongagingannular shoulders on which said frictionally engaging surfaces areformed, one of such surfaces being substantially hemispherical toprovide for the tilting of the radially outer end of said one punchelement into alignment with the other punch element.

9. A mechanism according to claim 8 wherein said means tending to holdsaid surfaces in frictional engagement with each other comprises springmeans tending to prevent relative movement between such surfaces.

16. A mechanism according to claim 8 wherein said means tending to holdsaid surfaces in frictional engagement with each other comprises aspring radially inwardly of said one punch element for biasing thelatter radially outwardly and for urging said frictionally engagingsurfaces into engagement with each other, whereby, upon substantialmisalignment of said punch elements when they move into punchingengagement with each other, said other punch element will move said onepunch element into said carrier against the loading of said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS844,171 McAnulty Feb. 12, 1907 1,466,001 Metzner Aug. 23, 1923 1,581,236Speer Apr. 20, 1926 1,975,350 Davis Oct. 2, 1934 2,017,247 Hodge Oct.15, 1935 2,085,863 Lindbom July 6, 19 7 2,771,309 Clark Nov. 20, 1956FOREIGN PATENTS 627,356 Germany Mar. 13, 1936

